{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2026/8/blackburn-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-restore-state-authority-over-insurance", "Blackburn, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Restore State Authority Over Insurance", "2026-08-27", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2013 U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) recently reintroduced the Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act. The legislation would abolish the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, returning sole regulatory authority over the insurance industry to the states.\n\n\u201cInsurance regulation has long been, and should remain, a responsibility of the states,\u201d said Senator Blackburn. \u201cThe Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act would eliminate unnecessary federal overreach, cut red tape, and return power to the states.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Federal Insurance Office is a redundant, ever-expanding, unaccountable entity that infringes upon states\u2019 authority to regulate the insurance industry,\u201d said Senator Cruz. \u201cThis legislation will rein in bureaucratic overreach by the federal government and empower state regulators to focus on what is best for consumers in their states.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Federal Insurance Office does not need to exist. It\u2019s an Obama-era expansion of the federal bureaucracy created to intrude on states\u2019 rights,\u201d said Senator Lee. \u201cOur bill will formally abolish this needless expense and return insurance regulation to the states, where it has always belonged.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nIn 1945, Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson Act, solidifying states\u2019 regulatory authority over the insurance industry. Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which granted the FIO specific financial stability, monitoring, and international responsibilities. However, these responsibilities duplicate functions within an industry that has long been regulated at the state level and traditionally overseen by state insurance regulators.\n\nThe Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act would eliminate the FIO and restore primary regulatory authority over the insurance industry to the states.\n\nClick here for bill text", 1, "2026-08-28T17:11:49Z", "2026-08-28T17:13:14Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2026/8/blackburn-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-restore-state-authority-over-insurance"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.608557067811489, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}